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Originally Posted by valerieam  I may be wrong but I think the vet makes a profit on the Science diet. I'm sure they get it for much less than they sell it for.
Pippin has IBD and he was put on Hills i/d and then the z/d. He continued to have episodes. One time I was picking up some Hills from the receptionist, and mentioned to her that the reviews I read on the hills wasn't good. She just nodded and said "I know". So, I don't think they are prescribing it because its such a high quality product.
I ended up going to a nutritionist and I home cook for Pippin right now. That still doesn't mean he won't have another episode. It's a scary disease. |
The profits vets make off of food is miniscule - one of my tech responsibilities at the clinic i worked for was "food manager". i did all the ordering/inventory etc. Vets carry food as a convenience and to prescribe rx diets as needed, definatly not to make money. Trust me, it's at the very very very bottom of their "profit" margin and if I remember correctly, the profit margin on Hill's is aprox only like 5 to 10%.
That same vet also sold Innova and Nature's Variety simply as a convience (trust me, it's a pain to deal with food on top of everything else in a clinic) but he still put certain patients on an rx diet when needed. He used a few different brands depending on the reason for the diet, but he had quiet a bit of Hills rx diets in stock (this is a vet who actually does know a
ton about nutrition by his own research and feeds his own dogs a homemade raw diet with suppliments, so if he used rx diets, then they are definatly necessary in some cases).
OP - if you are really not happy feeding the Hills long term, don't switch from it without consulting a licenced veterinary nutritionist. They may be able to help you with an alternative, but definatly don't do it on your own with a condition like this. I understand how you feel about the Hills food, but as Ellie Mae said - sometimes you have to use it and when it comes to a desease, don't base all your thinking on a dog food rating site, yes they are helpfull, but not the bottom line, especially with an unhealthy dog.